And Holt – who took over the League Two outfit just months before the pair agreed to move to Glasgow – offered an X-rated analogy when discussing the Ibrox club’s pursuit of the duo.

Discussing it with fans on Twitter, he wrote: “What I’m saying is that Rangers sent me a letter on January 3 stating they wanted to talk to players, when I knew all that was left to do was the medical.

“That’s what pissed me off.

“It’s a bit like asking permission off someone to shag his wife when he knows you’re already at it.”

“What I am saying is that it was all over the Scottish press and I was being contacted by agents telling me that they were going to Rangers long before the window opened as we were trying to secure contracts.”

And he claimed: “The lads were offered contracts – I knew about Rangers long before they approached the club.”